Indie Spotlight: Paint Shop Polish, May Flowers & In Bloom

Hello there!  Yes, I know it's been ages and ages since I've posted.  There are tons of excuses I could make, but what it boils down to is just feeling burnt out on blogging.  There just came a point where all the swatching, photo editing, and writing just wasn't fun for a bit and I was all like "Blogging is hard!" so I took a break.  But I'm dipping my toes back in the water, just to test it out.  I can't promise regularity with posting but be sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram (user name is @vashtiaa).  I tend to post quick shots of current manicures on those accounts.

Alright, back to the point of today's post!  Paint Shop Polish has a new spring collection coming out on Monday, March 23 and I was lucky enough to get to swatch a couple of pretties and I have some photos of those to show you today! 

First up is In Bloom, an appropriately named floral glitter topper.  Large iridescent lavender flower-shaped glitter swim in a clear base with smaller petal pink,  daffodil yellow, and violet hexes, lilac squares, and a healthy sprinkle of holographic micro glitter.  This is just a perfectly pretty spring mix!

I applied In Bloom first in one thin coat to spread out the holographic sparkle and then by dabbing the larger glitters on.  The gradient underneath was created using Sinful Colors Unicorn and Out of Bounds.  In Bloom was fairly easy to work with, the base is a good consistency; not too thick or gloppy.  I did have to fish a bit for the larger flower glitters, but that's pretty much par for the course when it comes to big glitters.  You'll also want a good top coat to smooth out any bumpiness from the glitter.

If you're a glitter topper fan, In Bloom is definitely worth a look.  So pretty!

May Flowers is the second polish I have to show you today.  We all know what a sucker I am for a good crelly and this one fits the bill!  Icy blue iridescent flower glitters are accompanied by small hexes in the same shade and periwinkle hexes in a squishy white crelly base.  This was my favorite of these two polishes...love the glitter mix and the base is beautiful!

No application issues to report, beyond the necessity to fish a bit for the larger glitters.  I'm showing 3 coats here with one coat of Seche Vite on top.  Really just a lovely polish!

May Flowers and In Bloom will both be available this Monday, March 23 on the Paint Shop Polish Etsy site.  A 5ml mini bottle retails for $5.50 and a full size 15ml bottle is $10.  Also, Candi is currently offering 15% off $15 with code PADDYS15 or free US shipping with a $25 order with code FREESHIP25. Both codes will expire on March 31st so don't wait!. Be sure to follow PSP on Facebook to keep updated on new products, sales, and other important info!

Thanks so much for reading!  I hope you enjoyed this post and I'd love to hear from you in the comments section below!

Lacquerlicious & Orly Manicure

Hi folks!  I have a super bright and fun manicure to show you all today.  I know with the weather, things have been kind of doldrummy around here and I know other parts of the country are getting hit just as bad.  I'm doing my best to keep my spirits up (and encourage the Spring weather to get here) by pulling out my most colorful polishes!  Today's manicure is no exception.

I started with 3 coats of Orly's Purple Poodle, which I picked up at Sally's last week on clearance.  PP is a fuchsia jelly with little blue flakie and glitter bits.   If this doesn't qualify for bright, I'm not sure what does!

I actually wore PP by itself for a day, but decided it needed a little something extra to punch it up even further.  I settled on No Tricks, Just Treats! by Lacquerlicious.  This is my first Lacquerlicious polish and I grabbed it over at Llarowe for $3!  Talk about a great sale!  Anyway, I'm definitely impressed with this brand and I hope to add a few more to my stash in the future.   NTJT! is the very definition of a glitter bomb.  Containing over 75(!) different glitters, each bottle is a little different.  Mine has a great mix of dots and hexes in large and small sizes, stars, bars and micro glitter in just about every color you can think of.  I can't wait to use this in a jelly sandwich!

Thank you all so much for reading!

Indie Spotlight: Ruby White Tips Christmas Balls

*RWT polish won in a giveaway.  Unsolicited review.  All other products purchased by me.*

Hello, Readers!  If there are, indeed, any of you left.  An explanation for my absence is warranted, I know.  I don't really have a good one.  Certainly, work has been busy but not so much that I haven't been painting my nails at all.  I think that mostly I've just worn myself out.  I love nail polish and I love blogging, but it's actually quite hard work.  Many people may not believe that but it's true.  Blogging is a time-consuming process and nail painting even more so.  I've just gotten burned out lately.  So I can't promise that I'll be back to posting as much as I was, but I'm working on it.  Above all, this venture should be fun and it was getting to the point where it was just stressful.  I've taken a little break and I'm hoping to get back in the groove, so don't count me out just yet!

Today I'm going to show you all a Christmas polish.  Yes, I know.  It's either a little late or a lot early, but it's my very first Ruby White Tips polish, a brand I regularly drool over on Facbook and Etsy, so I really had to show it off!  I actually won this in a giveaway from RWT and although I received it long before Christmas, I haven't had a chance to try it out yet.

Christmas Balls is a pink to gold shimmer base with cheery red and gold dot and square glitters, topped off with a holographic sparkle.  After I put this on, I realized that despite the name, CB qualifies as a pretty Valentine's Day polish as well.  The pink shimmer is much more pronounced in real life and with the red and gold...well, it practially screams cupid!

CB has a lovely formula with a smooth application.  I'm wearing 3 coats here with a coat of Seche Vite on top and there is some visible nail line so I wouldn't expect complete opacity here.  If you'd like a more opaque look, you can layer this over white or any other color that strikes your fancy.  The glitter does settle a bit but turning the bottle upside down for a few moments before application will solve that issue.  The one coat of SV was enough to smooth out any bumpiness from the glitter.

*RWT polish won in a giveaway.  Unsolicited review.  All other products purchased by me.*

RWT still has Christmas Balls available (and the rest of their holiday collection) in their Etsy store for $9.75 for a full size bottle. RWT is also 5-free and vegan, which more and more folks are looking for these days.  You can follow RWT on Facebook to keep informed about new products, sales and other relevant deets.

Thanks so much for reading!

Pink Roses Stamped Manicure

Good evening everyone!  Another late night post from me...what can I say?  I'm a total night owl, plus I don't have to work in the morning.  Don't be too jealous, I have to work Saturday and Sunday so tomorrow is my mini-weekend!  

I'm still practicing my stamping but it's going so much easier these days.  In case you missed my last post on it, roughing up your stamper with a nail file and then cleaning it with acetone/polish remover makes a world of difference! 

These are some different rose designs from a plate I got from Born Pretty Store, #QA55.  I wanted more of an abstract design, so I layered a few stamps on each nail.  I'm kind of loving the outcome!  The base polish is Wet 'n' Wild's Wild Shine in Tickled Pink and I used I Love Nail Polish's beautiful Molly to stamp.  The roses have a nice bit of holographic sparkle when the light hits them.

I'm not really much of a pink girl usually, but I wanted to try something girly and sweet and I'm pretty sure I accomplished it, no?  :)  

Thanks so much for reading!

Sinful Colors Diamond Lust Collection

Howdy, everyone!  How was everyone's Monday?  Mine was decent, got some very exciting nail mail to show you all later in the week.  Today's post, however, came about because I was strolling through my not-so-local Walgreen's the other evening and came upon this display:

I couldn't resist, I bought 6!  Shown above from left to right are: Queen of Deco, Crystal Clear, Gemtastic, Scene Stealer, Shine on Me, I Dream in Jewels, Rags to Riches, and Watch It Shine.  The whole collection consists of colorful glitters in clear bases, though the glitters do vary from polish to polish.

I have one whole manicure to show you, featuring my favorite from the collection and then a single nail swatch of the other shades I purchased.  Let's get started, shall we?

For my full manicure, I've topped 2 coats of China Glaze's Mahogany Magic with 2 coats of SC's I Dream in Jewels.  IDIJ is a gorgeous gold and red micro glitter with larger diamond-shaped holographic glitter in a clear base.  I have to say, on the whole, I'm really pleased with the amount of glitter in this collection.  Most of the polishes had good coverage in 2 coats.  IDIJ is totally packed with glitter and I love the color combo!  My boyfriend said, "Wow!  It looks like the Solid Gold Dancers!" and then proceeded to ask me if I knew who they were lol (note to my younger audience: do not ask me who they are, you'll make me feel old.  That's what they invented Google for!)

I tried my best to get a good macro shot of each polish, I hope you can at least get the idea of what they look like!

 Now on to the rest of the collection!  (All SC Diamond Lust polishes shown in 2 coats)

 

 Crystal Clear (shown over 2 coats of Deborah Lippmann's Edge of Glory) is chock full of holographic glitters in hexes, diamonds and bars.  I didn't even see the bars until I got it on my nails.  Application was good, although I did have to fish a bit for the diamond glitters.  CC is a real show stopper; super sparkly and very interesting to look at.

 Shine On Me (shown over 2 coats of Wet 'n' Wild's Tickled Pink) contains pink holographic diamond-shaped glitter, pink holographic and fuchsia micro glitter, and larger pink hexes.  The color and glitter are great, but the formula on this one was a little gloppy for me.  Maybe it's just my bottle, but I was less impressed with this one than some of the others in the collection.  The smaller glitter is sparser than IDIJ, for instance, and the diamonds and larger hexes didn't want to spread nicely over my nail.  It's still a lovely polish, but  not my favorite.

Rags To Riches (shown over 3 coats of NYC's Tudor City Teal) is my second favorite of the collection.  It's basically a green version of Shine On Me, with green holographic diamonds and hexes and green and gold micro glitter.   The holographic finish on these glitters really pops!  Application was good on this one and it spread out nicely over my nail.

Scene Stealer (shown over 2 coats of Wet 'n' Wild's Tickled Pink) seems to be the front runner as favorite of the collection judging from the blog posts I've seen so far.  SS has pink holographic diamond-shaped glitters, small pink holographic hexes, and fuchsia micro glitter.  It really is a pretty polish with plenty of sparkle.  Coverage was good in 2 coats and application was great.

  

Watch It Shine (shown over 2 coats of Deborah Lippmann's Edge of Glory) is the second silver holographic topper of the bunch.  Silver holographic diamonds and silver holographic micro glitter packed into a clear base, WIS is another stunner.  The tiny glitters really look like diamond dust and I can see this one working over a lot of different base colors.  Again, easy application and good coverage in 2 coats.

Sinful Colors Diamond Lust polishes retail for $2.99, which is $1 more than the regular collection.  If you love glitter, these are totally worth it.  I'm excited to have them all in my stash and am hoping to try out a few jelly sandwiches with them soon!

What do you guys think?  Have you purchased any of these yet?  I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks so much for reading!

ABC Challenge: P is for Painted Sabotage

Howdy, everyone!  Another Wednesday evening, another ABC Challenge post!  Today's letter is "P" and I've got a new-to-me indie brand to show for it.   I found Painted Sabotage via Manicure Addict (whose blog you should definitely be reading if you aren't already) a few weeks ago.  I immediately fell in love with Gargle Blaster and knew I had to have it!

Nice little bottle shot there, but on to the nails, yes?

GB has everything you could want; fuchsia squares in two sizes and small fuchsia hexes, silver hexes in three sizes,  micro glitters in silver and gunmetal all in sheer minty blue/green base with a slight shimmer.  Seriously, this polish is so pretty!  It's quite sheer, but application was a breeze and it built up nicely in 3-4 coats.  I used it here with no undies and you can see in the photo below the depth this beauty has.

I used Sinful Color Outrages (not a misspelling, that's how it's printed on the bottle) for the accent nails and half moons here.  Outrages' creamy fuchsia shine was a perfect complement to GB.

I'll be picking up a few more Painted Sabotage polishes when my beauty budget opens up a bit.  Speaking of which, did anyone snag one of the Allure Beauty Boxes this time around?  I was super lucky and snuck one in, so be expecting a review on it in a few weeks!

Thanks so much for reading and be sure to check out the other lovely ladies in the ABC Challenge, you can find them via the links below!

Summer Squares Geometric Manicure

Hi there!  How's everyone doing?  I spent a pleasant evening with a friend having dinner and catching a show.  We went to see American Idiot, which was actually a lot more fun than I was expecting.  If you're a Green Day fan, I'd definitely suggest checking it out.  I don't consider myself a huge fan (in fact, "Know Your Enemy" used to send me running from the pet store where I worked cuz I can't stand it), but the music was fun and the choreography was interesting. 

Anywho, on to what we're all here for; nails!  I am in love with my mani today.  I basically just grabbed a few colors and started painting without a specific end in mind, so I'm pleasantly surprised with how it turned out.  Take a look:

I started with 2 coats of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Orange Impulse.  OI is a "true" orange creme.  I think everyone probably has a different idea of true orange, but this one is as close as I've seen to my idea.  After OI dried, I taped off some square shapes and filled them in with Insta-Dri in Blue By! which is a lovely lake blue creme.  The next step was to tape off even smaller squares and fill them in with Insta-Dri's Fast Fuchsia, a bright pink creme with just a touch of purple to it.  My taping skills failed me a bit this time and my edges were a little wonky, so I opted to freehand some lines in with Orly Instant Artist in Yellow Submarine.

All of these Insta-Dri colors were ones I found at Dollar Tree and, as near as I can tell, they're all Limited Edition colors.  It's odd that I can't seem to find a lot about them online, as they're pretty colors, but no one really seems to have swatched them.  In any case if you see them, snag them, they're awesome!

I almost went back in with more tape to make everything "perfect" but, for some reason, I like the imperfection in the lines.  I actually feel a little Jasper Johns-y, though my colors are way off lol
 

I'm doing my best to bring in the summer with these colors, cuz Mother Nature seems to be having a hard time getting around to it this year.  I'm grateful we're not so flooded here in my neighborhood in Chicago because I know there are folks who have it much worse than me, but damn, I am tired of rain already.  I'm having a hard time remembering what that lovely, yellow, bright thing that usually hangs around in the sky is called...the sun, maybe?  Come back, Mr. Sun...the Windy City misses you!

Thanks so much for reading!

The Inevitable Easter Manicure

Howdy, everyone!  Today has been kind of bittersweet for me.  It was my last official day working at the pet store.  I'm going to miss all the dogs and their owners a lot, but it was the right move for me.  I'll have a more regular schedule now with weekends off, which is pretty darn exciting.

Anyway, on to the nails!  I've got sort of an Easter skittles thing going on here, I think.  This was tons of fun to do, but it took f-o-r-e-v-e-r!  Hopefully, it was worth it.  What do you think?

I'm in love with the little chicks on my index fingers lol  They turned out so cute I can't stand it!  I'll put a polish list at the end of the post, it's too much to go into here.  My thumb and middle fingers are water marbled, which is what took so long.  I had to redo my left hand about 4 times!   I added some dots on top of the marble with a dotting tool.  I did the bunnies on my ring fingers with the same dotting tool which was also used for the dots on the "egg" (my pinkie nail).  For the zigzag on my pinkie and the edge of the eggshell on my index nail, I used pinking shears to cut pieces of tape.  Then, I placed the tape on my nail, painted over it and pulled it off while the polish was still wet.  

I have to say, I'm pretty proud of this one.  I sent my boyfriend a photo of it last night and his response was "Holy cow!"...if he's impressed, I know I've done a good job lol 

I hope you all have a lovely Easter, if you celebrate it.  If not, have a great Sunday :)  Thanks so much for reading, and don't forget to enter my Sinful Colors Giveaway!

Polishes used:
Base color, bunny face, polka dots~Sinful Colors-Snow Me White
Water marble, bunny nose & ears, polka dots~Sinful Colors-Soul Mate
Water marble, Easter egg base color~Sinful Colors-Orange Cream
Water marble, polka dots~Sinful Colors-Unicorn
Water marble, bunny base color, Easter egg zigzag~Sinful Colors-Sugar Rush
Water marble, polka dots~Sinful Colors-Candy Coated
Chick face~Sinful Colors-Pull Over
Chick beak~NYC-Times Square Tangerine
Chick eyes, bunny eyes~Wet 'n' Wild Wild Shine-Black Creme
Chick egg~O.P.I~White Shatter

The Inevitable Valentine's Day Manicure

Howdy, folks!  Happy Valentine's Day!  I have to be honest, I'm really not a fan of this "holiday".  In part because I believe that if you love someone, you don't need the candy and card companies telling you which days you should tell them how you feel.  And also because I'm usually single on VDay lol  I typically refer to Valentine's Day as S.A.D.; Singles' Awareness Day.  Even though I do happen to have a boyfriend this year, I'm still not all into the hearts and chocolates.  That being said, it's still a reason to throw some nail art on and take one more polish off of my unworn pile...yay!  

So, without further ado, the inevitable VDay mani:

I picked up Sinful Colors Truth or Dare the other day at Walgreen's.  It's a really pretty raspberry creme and I'm happy to have a chance to try it out.  I'm wearing 2 coats here under everything else.  My thumb is also sporting Nicole by O.P.I. in Step 2 the Beat of My Heart, pink and lavender holographic hearts with holographic micro glitter in a clear base and my middle finger is adorned with Milani Jewel FX in Hot Pink, a mix of holographic, hot pink and deep fuchsia hex glitters in a clear base.  I threw some flocking powder and beads in a heart shape in there for good measure, as well as some X's and O's with a nail art pen.

It's actually kind of a fun manicure, even if I don't like to admit it lol  I do wish everyone a great Valentine's Day, just don't buy into the retail crap!  Thanks so much for reading!

ABC Challenge: F is for Fingerprints and Folly

Hiya, everyone!  Today brings us another ABC Challenge and our letter is "F".  I know the title up there says that F is for Fingerprints and Folly, but it also kinda stands for "Fail" here lol  This is not my favorite manicure, but I figure it's good to see the losers as well as the winners, yeah?  Anyway, here's what I have:

It just looks a mess, don't it?  Oh well.  I started here with 2 coats of Sinful Colors Folly, a watermelon pink creme.  I decided that fingerprints would be a fun manicure to do for "F", but I didn't want to spend 42 hours painting them on and I don't have a stamping plate with that pattern, so I searched around online a bit and found this.  Seemed pretty straight forward and easy; dip your finger in acrylic paint, dab off the excess and then press your fingertip into your nail.  I don't know if my paint was old or if I didn't press hard enough, but either way, I'm not particularly impressed with the result.  That's what I get for trying to cut corners!

I do, however, love the color of Folly.  It's really one of my all time favorite pinks.  It seems somehow less "girly" than a true pink and it's just gorgeous for summer. 

I can't wait to see what the other ladies have come up with for their "F" manicures!  You can find them all via the links below.  Thanks so much for reading!

Sugar Rush with a Side of Bombshell

Howdy everyone!  Sorry it's been a few days since I posted, it was kind of a crazy weekend.  I put myself on a "no-buy" for last week and then broke it all over the place at Ulta on Friday and then Ulta again and Forever 21 on Saturday.  Forever 21 had a half off of clearance prices sale so I got a bunch of polish for $0.49 a bottle!  I'm excited to try out their polishes as that was my first ever trip into the store.  I'll be going back, I'm sure!

Additional to all the polish I bought over the weekend, I did get some nail mail as well.  I received my Add On from Julep (however, never got my Maven Box, so I'm a bit bummed about that) and, much more exciting, my first ever order from Darling Diva Polish!  I first saw this polish featured over on Lucy's Stash.  You can see the review that caught my eye here.  The polish that really stood out to me was Sugar Rush and I've done a little manicure with it!  Take a look:

You can see Sugar Rush is on my ring fingernail.  It's so fantastically magical!  My very first indie polish and what a great choice!

....more after the jump....

Neon Chevron Skittles Manicure

Howdy, everyone!  How's your weekend?  I know it's just about over for everyone, but Sunday evenings are usually about the only "weekend" I get anymore.  My work day is shorter than the rest of the week and I don't have to work in the morning.  Woohoo!  

I have a fun experiment for you guys today.  I say "experiment" because I really didn't know how it would turn out.  As it turns out, some good things happened and some not so good things happened.  I do love a good learning experience!  So, I'll quit jawing on about it and just show you the photos :)

....more after the jump....

Julep Petra

Hello, everyone!  I've got a quick swatch for you today of a very pretty Julep shade.  Take a peek:

This is Julep's Petra, described as a "cranberry magenta with a silver shimmer" on their website.  I swatched this not expecting to like it very much.  Pinks and reds just aren't my thing and this polish seems to sit somewhere between the two.  However, once I got it on, I saw the subtle purple and fuchsia tones as well as the silver.  I was surprised at how much I ended up liking it.  I'm wearing 3 coats here and I felt that was pretty good coverage.  The formula was nice and the color payoff is great!

Here's another look:
 

You can see a bit of the silver shimmer in this one.  Isn't it nice when things turn out better than you expect?  And speaking of nice things, here's a reminder that my giveaway is still open so get your entries in for a chance to win 3 Julep polishes!

Thanks so much for reading!

SMD-Revlon's Popular

Hello, hello! 4 days in a row of posting, it's almost unprecedented for me!  I'm sure I'll lapse back to irregularity soon, so enjoy it while you can.  

The polish I have for you today is a special one.  If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you know that I lost a very good friend in November.  Over the last few weeks, we "Chicago Girls" have been helping Shannon's parents clean out her condo and go through her things.  Shannon had a love of fingernail polish, not as crazy as mine, but above average for sure.  While organizing her place, we came across her stash, which I have now inherited.  I've decided to do a weekly swatch or nail art with her polishes as a sort of tribute.  Her taste in polish differed a lot from my own, so there are quite a few colors that I would not have purchased for myself...it'll be good to try something different and I think she'd like that they're being used. 

So, my first SMD Stash manicure is with Revlon's Popular.  Take a look:

....more after the jump....

Pretty Glitter Manicure + Giveaway News

Howdy, everyone!  Once again, I've fallen behind in posting.  It's mostly laziness on my part; I'm having a hard time getting into the swing of things in the new year.  However, my fabulous boyfriend is cleaning my kitchen for me so I can get some stuff done online.  Isn't he great?

I have a really simple, but really pretty, manicure for you guys today.  Here's ya go:

 ....more after the jump....